History of Birkenhead Page 2
Industry
Birkenhead attracted a huge flour-milling industry which made it the largest milling centre in Europe. Due to the arrival of many extra labourers to complete the building work, the first community housing project
known as the Dock Cottages, which contained 350 dwellings in a block of flats was started.
In 1860, William Hesketh Lever established his soap and detergents business,
which utilised coal and electricity from the north-west to make washing soda from Cheshire's salt reserves. The manufacture of soaps and detergents was aided by the import of vegetable fats through the Mersey ports. Port Sunlight was the most famous of the brands and was named after Lever's Port Sunlight model village. This was built in 1888, and provided employment, housing, and entertainment for the workers. The firm later merged with the Dutch Company 'Uni' and formed the multinational company Unilever.
Laird and Lever brothers were the founders of Wirral's industrial heritage,
and household names such as Mobil, E.R. Squibb and Sons Ltd and Candy have helped to provide employment and prestige to Birkenhead. Birkenhead's international
links have also established it as an important shipping centre.
By 1860 the town's population had risen to over 45,000 and the next decade saw
a series of firsts for Birkenhead, including a Member of Parliament, a workhouse,
a cemetery and a public library. A tunnel under the River Mersey was
completed in 1886, and the Mersey Tunnel, which was used for vehicles, was in use by 1934.
Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers football team's original ground was on the site of Devonshire
Park School, in Temple Road and was known as the Borough-Road Enclosure.
Nearby Prenton became one of the more fashionable and newly developed
districts in the town and therefore, Prenton Park was chosen as Tranmere's new home. In
1995 Prenton Park was converted to an all-seater stadium, which coincided with
its 100 year anniversary as Tranmere Rovers home.
Today, Birkenhead has expanded even more, and can include flour milling, the
manufacture of margarine and pharmaceuticals, and marine engineering
amongst the industries in the area. All this provides work not only for people in
Birkenhead, but also in the surrounding areas.
Sources:
www.rfraser.freeuk.com,
www.wirral.gov.uk,
www.tranmererovers.co.uk,
www.cavendish.demon.co.uk
